Find your Manitou 🏔️
0.9 Miles, 2,768 steps, and the pursuit of fulfillment
I love the type of challenge that blends excitements and nerves. Excitement as I crave adventure. Nerves as I know they bring discomfort.
Back in May, my wife and I traveled to Colorado for a friend’s wedding. We built in a few extra days to explore and an enticing idea occurred to me: Manitou Incline.
An “extreme” trail in Colorado Springs, it ascends the side of a mountain, boasting 2,020 feet of elevation gain in less than 1 mile and an average grade of 41% in the process.
8 years ago I had done it with the same friend who was getting married. We set a time of 53 minutes. I wanted to beat it solo.
A few issues—a 3am wake-up, a 2.5 hour flight, not acclimatizing to the altitude with a change from 617 feet to 6500 feet.
This would be a mental game. A test of grit and perseverance.
I checked the risks. The climb wouldn’t spike my training load or risk injury. So I committed.
500 steps—feeling pumped. 1000 steps—ahead of pace. 1300 steps—nevermind, it changed in an instant
Burn. In the muscles, in the lungs. Seeking more oxygen, finding less air. Heart rate spiking from 120 to 170 beats/minute over the course of 10 steps.
A truly humbling experiment in physiology.
Forced to slow, it offered a chance to pause and enjoy the discomfort.
Yes, I was hurting, but that leads physical and mental growth.
I found a meaningful challenge and went after it, feeling a sense of fulfillment in the process.
Isn’t that the goal of life? Finding your mountain to climb, your challenge, and working towards it, step by step. A way of discovering fulfillment and meaning.
Yet, I still had 500 steps to go.
10 steps—Rest. 30 steps—Rest. 10 steps—Rest. 18 steps—Rest. On and on the entire way up. Glimpsing back to soak in the view of the climb.
When I crested the peak, I missed the PR by a mere 2 minutes. Despite missing the goal, the attempt felt oddly satisfying.
I climbed and gave it all I had on the day, achieving my best in the process. In a physical sense, I discovered what I seek in daily life, a mission to strive for my best, no matter the challenge.
Find your Manitou, your challenge, your mountain. Don’t expect perfection as perfection breeds unrealistic expectations. When the body and mind no longer want to push, yet 500 steps remain, push.
Too often we plays it safe, I know I have in life.
Where’s the growth? Where is the sacrifice? Where is the risk? Where is the grace?
Go for fulfillment. Go for meaning. Your mountain is waiting.
Cheers to your mountain!
Matt
